เข้าสู่ระบบENIDI blink.Check on me?Cassian?I open my mouth to ask a thousand questions, but only one comes out:“Why are you acting like this?”He freezes.His eyes meet mine.And for the briefest second, I swear I see fear. It was entirely different from the fear I saw in his eyes when Lia was sick.Before I can press further, he turns away.“Rest, Enid,” he says quietly. “Please.”Please.He’s gone before I can form a reply.The door closes softly behind him.I sink onto the bed, my chest tight and my mind buzzing.Cassian Dorne cared today.Really cared.Maybe too much.And even though confusion twists my stomach… even though I know he’s hiding something…I can’t deny the raw, simple truth pressing through all of it. It felt good.It felt good to be cared for by him.Too good.Dangerously good.And I don’t know what to do with that.The next day, Maria arrives at the house like a hurricane.I barely make it down the stairs before she gasps loudly, drops her purse onto the console table, a
ENIDThe first thing I feel is weight.Heavy, dull, pressing behind my eyes like a fist made of light.Then warmth.A steady warmth close to my hand… no, wrapped around it.I blink, slowly, as if my lashes are stuck together, and the white ceiling comes into focus, sterile, too bright, too quiet. A hospital ceiling.I inhale sharply, and the scent of disinfectant fills my lungs.Hospital. I’m in a hospital.Why? What happened?My heart rate spikes, and I turn my head. Everything feels slow, like the world is dragging a second behind me, and then I see him.Cassian. Sitting in the chair beside my bed.His elbows rest on his knees, his hands clasped tight, his head bowed as if he’s trying to hold himself together. His shoulders rise and fall with a slow, uneven breath. He’s still in the same clothes, but they’re wrinkled now, like he’s been here for hours, and his hair is messy.He looks exhausted.Worried. Terrified, even.I don’t think I’ve ever seen an expression like that on him. No
CASSIANOne second, she’s standing. Next, she’s collapsing.I catch her before her body hits the tile, but the weight of her unconsciousness knocks the air out of me. Her head falls against my chest, her skin frighteningly cold, her breathing shallow and uneven.“Enid… Enid!” My voice cracks, too loud in the quiet kitchen.Her eyes don’t open. Her fingers don’t move. Her body feels limp in a way no one’s body should ever feel.A cold, violent panic floods my bloodstream.No. No. No.Not her.I shift my hold and scoop her into my arms, cradling her against me as if gravity might steal her away if I loosen my grip even slightly.“Enid, stay with me,” I whisper harshly, breath shaking. “You hear me? Stay with me.”She doesn’t respond.My heartbeat slams against my ribs as I carry her through the hallway. My feet pound against the marble floor, every step a punch of adrenaline. I shout for the driver, for anyone, but the house is dead silent.Of course it is. Of course, she’d collapse whe
ENIDThe dream hits me so suddenly that for a moment, I can’t tell if I’m asleep or awake.I’m standing in a dimly lit room. There are warm lights.Soft music. Velvet curtains frame the walls.A scent, amber and something sweet, wraps around me like smoke.I’m wearing a mask.A black, laced masquerade mask that covers half my face, delicate and strangely familiar against my skin. My breath echoes behind it, shallow, uneven.Across from me, there’s a man.Tall. Broad shoulders. His face is shadowed, like the light refuses to touch him. But his presence fills the room, quiet, commanding, magnetic in a way that makes my skin prickle.He steps closer, slow and deliberate, until the heat of his body brushes mine.My pulse stutters. I should step back. I should question this. I should say something.But I can’t.Because it all feels too real. Too intimate. Too familiar.Like déjà vu buried deep inside a memory I’ve never allowed myself to remember.He lifts a hand, brushing a strand of hair
ENIDCassian’s coldness isn’t new.But this… this is different.It’s been almost a week since the lunch with Thane, and Cassian hasn’t said a single unnecessary word to me. Not even a glance. Not even a flicker of acknowledgment. It’s as if I’ve turned invisible, like some ghost haunting his mansion, occupying space but never quite existing.But that’s not what bothers me.What bothers me is that I can feel him avoiding me.If I walk into a room, he leaves. If I enter the kitchen for tea, he suddenly remembers he has a call. If our eyes accidentally meet in a hallway, he looks away immediately, jaw tight, shoulders stiff.And for reasons I can’t explain, it stings more than it should.I’m standing in the kitchen now, pouring hot water into a mug, when Maria texts me:Maria: How’s Cassian?Me: Distant.Maria: More than usual?Me: Way more.Maria: …do I want to ask why?Me: I don’t even know.Which is partially a lie.Because I do know.He saw me with Thane. But I don’t understand why h
CASSIANI don’t remember leaving the restaurant.One moment I’m standing there, staring at Enid sitting across from Thane as if the universe is mocking me, and the next I’m outside on the pavement.My driver says something, holds the car door open, but his voice sounds far away. Muffled. Like I’m underwater.“Sir?”I blink and climb into the backseat.“Home or the office?”“The office,” I say immediately.Home is dangerous. Home means walking through hallways where her perfume lingers. Jasmine and vanilla. Soft and subtle, but sharp enough to cut through me every time. Home means passing her closed door and wondering if she’s awake. Wondering if she hates me. I wonder why I give a damn.So I chose the office.I spend the next three days buried in meetings, unnecessary ones, repetitive ones, ones my assistant gently reminds me I’ve already attended this quarter. I don’t care. I need the noise. The distraction.Anything but the image of her sitting with Thane.Her hair fell over her sho







